What Happened?
by NerdBurga
Summary: If Danny heard about Rusty's car blowing up after the Benedict job but didn't know what happened to Rusty, how would he react? A little ficlet about a worried team waiting to hear from their missing friend.


**A short oneshot on poor ol Danny's reaction to hearing about Terry's message to Rusty at the start of Ocean's Twelve. And yes I know, this isn't any of my multichapter fics I have going that I should be working on (don't kill me). Consider this as me easing back into it, as I haven't been able to write anything in about a month. Sorry about that. Trust me, I am doing my best to update them soon.**

**I've missed uploading things :D Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

Danny Ocean was not happy.

Any regular Joe or Mary from the street wouldn't be able to tell he was upset at all. In fact, most people in the room were having trouble gauging how upset that was exactly. But from the tense shoulders, the set jaw, the usually bright eyes that were dulled and unblinking, they knew it wasn't good. Some might even say Danny Ocean was freaking out. And as eight of the ten people in the room watched on, they really didn't know how to calm him down.

Because they were kind of freaking out too.

"I'm telling you Danny, he's fine," said Reuben reassuringly. "Benedict found all of us, and we're practically untouched!"

"Yeah? Anyone else in the room get their favourite car blown up?" Danny glared at all of them as if daring someone to answer. His arms were crossed, his finger tapping incessantly against his arm.

"We don't know Rusty was in the car," Reuben pointed out. "Don't count your eggs before they're broken."

"Alright Reuben," Danny turned on the older man, "then why haven't I been able to contact him? Better yet, why isn't he here?"

A thick silence met the question. Finally, Turk spoke up. "Maybe his watch is slow?"

Everyone turned to stare at him, but it was Danny's glare now being aimed in his direction that caused him to shrink slightly.

"What?" asked Virgil incredulously.

Turk shrugged. "That might be why he's late. Maybe his watch is slow."

"Wait, if you haven't been able to contact Rusty, how is he supposed to know to be here?" asked Linus. Now everyone was looking at him, and it was as if he had asked the most obvious thing in the world. "What?"

"Of course he knows where to go you tosser," said Basher with impatience, "what, you think he an' Danny wouldn't have a Plan B?"

"So…" Linus was still having trouble catching on. "What, you expected the Benedict job to go sour?"

"We expect every job to go sour," explained Danny with unexpected patience. Considering the circumstances. "This is our safe house, of sorts. A place to meet when things go wrong."

Linus considered that. "Should… should I have a safe house?" The question was met with a succession of rolling eyes and Yen pointing out, in no uncertain terms, how dumb a question that was.

"This is where we meet when things go wrong," repeated Danny, now turning back to Reuben who had been trying to soothe their fearless leader for the past half an hour. "And he isn't here."

"That don't mean he isn't alive. For all you know he's on his way right now. Remember the job in Paris? If I recall, it took three days for you two to find each other."

"I was on a broken leg," pointed out Danny through gritted teeth.

"...Well, yeah, but you weren't dead," argued Reuben hesitantly.

"What happened in Paris?" asked Linus. He was ignored.

"Okay and what about New York, huh?" Reuben suggested. "Rusty was missing for a week and you didn't once give up hope on him."

"Dammit Reuben, I had no idea what had happened to him then!" Danny slammed his hand on the table near him, and about half of the team jumped. This wasn't the calm and collected Danny they knew - this was one they had never imagined existed. "I hadn't just heard his car had blown up!"

"Wait, what happened in New York?" Linus was again ignored.

"And I_ haven't_ given up on him," Danny continued heatedly. "I'm just… a little concerned."

"That's understandable Daniel, but you're getting ahead of yourself," Saul stepped in, but Linus noticed the way his hands were shaking. Danny wasn't the only one worried about Rusty after all. "Robert knows how to be careful, and there could be any number of reasons why he hasn't contacted us yet."

"Yeah, none of them good."

"All we're saying," Reuben spoke back up, "is we mustn't jump to conclusions. Remember the time he went missing in Nevada? You lost nearly two million dollars trying to find him because you got all freaked out, only to realise you were supposed to meet him back in Utah!"

"Hey, I was still recovering from a concussion," Danny said defensively.

"What happened in - "

"It took me days to calm both of you down!" exclaimed Reuben dramatically, cutting Linus off. The kid was beginning to wonder if he should even bother asking. "You couldn't find him, he couldn't find you, both of you were goin' outta your damn minds. And nothing had even gone wrong!"

Okay, so Reuben was making a point, and Danny had to concede he was recognising the pattern. That didn't change the fact that Benedict had found his partner and his partner's favourite car had been blown up and his partner wasn't _here_. He began to pace silently, irritably, as his friends watched on with concern; concern for Rusty who wasn't here, for Danny who was (mildly) freaking out and for themselves if this whole operation fell apart before it even began. As the unfamiliar silence drew out, the tension in the room grew and for what felt like the thousandth time, Danny checked his phone. No missed calls. No texts.

No Rusty.

"That wanker better be alright," muttered Basher finally, apparently not even realising he'd spoken.

But someone had. "You know Bash you've really gotta learn to control that mouth of yours."

Danny's eyes widened, his ears pricking at the familiar voice and he turned to see a blonde man stepping into the room and out of the shadows, his gaudy shirt and bright smile irrefutably, undoubtedly recognisable.

Undoubtedly Rusty.

There was a shocked hush over the group as Rusty and Danny came face to face. Their eyes met and a million things were said between them, without a single word being uttered.

Danny appeared relaxed, pleasantly surprised, as if he hadn't just been losing his mind with worry. Rusty saw right through his friend's guise and offered silent reassurances while looking just as relaxed. Finally Saul broke the silence.

"You couldn't have called?" he asked, anger not quite successfully masking the relief in his voice.

Rusty turned to grin disarmingly at the rest of the team. "Phone was in the car," he explained. "Sorry I'm late."

And just like that, everyone was smiling and chatting and clapping Rusty on the back, and finally Danny let out the breath he'd been holding. Everything was alright. Rusty was alright.

"You see Danny? Didn't I tell you that you were overreacting?" Reuben announced triumphantly.

"Yeah, relax Danny," added Rusty, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's not like we're back in Australia."

"Well, wait, what happened in - "

"Linus!" Linus jumped as Reuben, Saul, Frank and Basher all turned to yell at him at once.

"What?"

"Don't ever ask about Australia man," advised Basher in suddenly hushed tones.

"_Ever_" added Frank for emphasis.

Linus looked to Reuben who was still glaring at him, to Saul who was shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of a bad memory, to others who looked as confused as he did. He then turned to Danny and Rusty, hoping they'd be more willing to share on the subject. But they were already muttering to each other in half-spoken sentences, no doubt stringing together a plan, and a small smile was playing at Danny's lips. They hadn't even seemed to notice the yelling.

Linus sighed and shrugged. Perhaps some things were better left not knowing.

**Seriously guys, I'm working on another chapter of Running right now. I promise :)**


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